Real Brownfields Deserve Dollars I
read with interest the story on Brownfield development dollars in the
July 20 issue. I applaud Dan Lathrop and other county commissioners who
voted “No” on the Randolph Street project...

Hopping Mad Carlin
Smith is hopping mad (“Will You Get Mad With Me?” 7-20-15). Somebody
filed a fraudulent return using his identity, and he’s not alone. The AP
estimates the government “pays more than $5 billion annually in
fraudulent tax refunds.” Well, many of us have been
hopping mad for years. This is because the number one tool Congress has
used to fix this problem has been to cut the IRS budget –by $1.2 billion
in the last 5 years...

Just Grumbling, No Solutions Mark
Pontoni’s grumblings [recent Northern Express column] tell us much
about him and virtually nothing about those he chooses to denigrate. We
do learn that Pontoni may be the perfect political candidate. He’s
arrogant, opinionated and obviously dimwitted...

A Racist Symbol I
have to respond to Gordon Lee Dean’s letter claiming that the
confederate battle flag is just a symbol of southern heritage and should
not be banned from state displays. The heritage it represents was the
treasonous effort to continue slavery by seceding from a democratic
nation unwilling to maintain such a consummate evil...

Not So Thanks I
would like to thank the individual who ran into and knocked over my
Triumph motorcycle while it was parked at Lowe’s in TC on Friday the
24th. The $3,000 worth of damage was greatly appreciated. The big dent
in the gas tank under the completely destroyed chrome badge was an
especially nice touch...

Suttons Bay Floatilla attempts Guinness World Record…again

FeaturesErin Crowell
“We have a great group of kids in our school, but we aren’t the affluent school you think we would be for this type of area. The money is in second homes and that population. Our school just isn’t big enough to have that money on-hand for these types of activities,” said Kate Thornton, who returns as Floatilla’s organizer.

River drifters and fly fishers, get on the wait list now: It takes three months to build a custom Croff Craft drift boat.

FeaturesKristi Kates
“In every boat I build there is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears … literally. I am the designer, engineer, builder, and finish guy,” he said. “But I absolutely love what I do, and try very hard to make that love show itself in the finished product.”.

Walloon Lake Sails It’s Own Way

FeaturesBekah Klarr
In 1973, Schach took the new fiberglass molds to a commercial boat builder in Grand River, Ohio named McLeod Boat Works. McLeod built six more boats which were assembled at the Walloon Landing Marina. After that, the molds were moved to a boat builder in Toledo, Ohio, who produced six more 17s.

In almost 40 years, only 50 über-luxe Van Dam yachts and powerboats have left the family-owned shop.

FeaturesBecky Kalajian
The 16,000-sq.-ft. shop, a former marina storage business on 16 acres, houses metal fabrication, a paint area, and construction. The two-story construction site is littered with hand tools and some bigger machinery, all of which Van Dam bought used along the way.

There’s beer and boats … and then there’s hops and props.

MusicKristi Kates
The breweries will be arriving from all over Michigan, and will include brews from Bells, Dark Horse, Shorts, Founders, Mitten, Hideout, North Peak, Rochester Mills, New Holland, and Arcadia Brewing Companies, plus offerings from The Livery, Douglas Valley Winery, Bardic Wells Meadery, Virtue Cider, and many more.

FeaturesKristi Kates
“Increased power and streamlined engineering have made them much more appealing to the market,” MacDonald explained. Tri-tubes — which add an extra pontoon to the middle of the boat — make today’s pontoon boats far more stable, and that’s only one of many new features.